On Thursday, it was announced that USC and UCLA will join the Big Ten in 2024. It’s a significant development that could seriously impact the landscape of college football.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith discussed the latest additions to the Big Ten.
Smith believes the additions of USC and UCLA will benefit Ohio State. His reasoning for that statement was interesting to say the least.
“For Ohio State, it – frankly – provides two other schools that can carry some weight,” Smith said. “At the end of the day, Ohio State has been the program for the Big Ten over the years that has been at the top of the pyramid and has carried a significant amount of weight and value in the Big Ten. Now we have 2 others who can contribute to that weight. I’m really excited about that.”
Smith continued: “That’s no disparagement to any school. It’s just reality.”
The Big Ten has other notable schools in its conference outside of Ohio State, like Michigan and Penn State.
Smith is probably right about Ohio State being “the school” in the Big Ten though.
It’ll be fascinating to see what the Big Ten looks like when USC and UCLA officially join the league.